Selective schools in Victoria: the Year 8 exam, offers and SEAL

In Victoria, the selective school exam comes later than in most states: children sit it in Year 8, for a place from Year 9. Here is a calm guide to Victoria’s four selective entry high schools, the exam, how offers are made, and how SEAL programs in other government schools are different.

Victoria’s four selective entry high schools

The Victorian Government says “Victoria has four selective entry high schools that provide a specialist environment for academically high-achieving students in Years 9 to 12”:

About 1,000 Year 9 places are offered across the four schools each year. A small number of places may come up at Years 10 and 11, and the schools manage those themselves.

To apply for Year 9 entry, your child must be in Year 8 (their second year of secondary school) and must not have sat the exam before. Students from government and non-government schools, and registered home-schooled students, can apply.

When is the selective school exam in Victoria?

The exam is held in June each year. The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) manages applications and offers for the Department. Here are the dates from the most recent round:

Last checked 17 October 2026. The dates for Year 9 entry in 2028, with the exam in 2027, haven’t been published yet. If the pattern holds, applications will open in March and the exam will be in June. Check the ACER and vic.gov.au pages before you plan. ACER says around 90% of places are filled in the first round of offers.

How much does it cost?

“An application fee of $175 is payable at the time of application.” Applications are free for families with a valid Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, and for First Nations families. A fee reduction is also available for financial hardship. If you withdraw, a $52 administration fee is kept.

What does the exam test?

The Victorian Government says the exam “assesses students’ aptitude for higher order thinking, problem-solving, reasoning, creative thinking, comprehension, interpretation and their ability to apply known concepts to situations.” The knowledge needed “will not exceed that found in the Year 8 curriculum.”

The tasks take 2 hours and 35 minutes, and the whole session takes about four hours. Unlike the NSW test, Victoria’s exam is on paper: students record their answers in an answer booklet, shading multiple-choice answers so a machine can read them, and bring two blue or black pens.

One line from ACER is worth sharing with your child: “It is not unusual for candidates to only answer half the questions correctly and many do not finish.” The exam is meant to stretch everyone, so finding it hard is normal.

After the exam, families receive a performance report. To keep the exam secure, individual scores and the test papers aren’t released.

How offers work

Places are offered in three ways:

• Standard merit: “85% of places will be offered based on rank from exam performance.”
• Equity consideration: up to 10% of places are offered on exam performance to students whose parents or guardians hold a Commonwealth Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, and/or who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
• Principal discretion: up to 5% of places are offered at the discretion of each school’s principal, by invitation. Principals may look at exam results, school reports, co-curricular achievements, the student’s reasons and siblings.

There’s also a cap so that one school doesn’t take too many places: “no more than 4% of students from a single source school (excluding prep to Year 9 schools) are offered standard and principal discretion places.” The equity category isn’t capped. You can list up to three school preferences, and an offer for one school can’t be swapped to another.

If your child is unwell, or needs adjustments

ACER’s advice is clear: if your child is unwell on exam day, they should not attend. Instead you apply for an alternative date with an Illness/Misadventure Form, by a deadline a few days after the exam. In the 2026 round it was Tuesday 23 June.

Special arrangements, such as wheelchair access or materials for students with vision impairment, “will be organised where required”. In the 2026 round, requests were due by the day applications closed.

Victoria’s specialist schools

A few other government schools choose students in their own way, with their own entry processes:

• John Monash Science School: a specialist science school for Years 10 to 12, on Monash University’s Clayton campus.
• Elizabeth Blackburn Sciences: a campus of University High School for Years 11 and 12, focused on science and maths.
• Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School: a selective entry school for talented young dancers, musicians, actors and visual artists in Years 7 to 12.
• Maribyrnong Sports Academy: a selective entry program at Maribyrnong College for athletes in Years 7 to 12.

What is SEAL?

SEAL stands for Select Entry Accelerated Learning. SEAL programs are run by individual government schools, and each school sets its own entrance test and dates. There’s no single Department list of SEAL schools, so search your preferred school’s own website.

Here’s how one school describes it. At Brighton Secondary College, “Entry into the SEAL program requires prospective students in Year 6 to undertake an entrance examination,” and students “must also apply to enrol through the regular year 6 to 7 enrolment process”. So check each school’s enrolment and zone rules as well as its SEAL test.

Other programs for high-ability students

A selective school isn’t the only way to stretch a keen learner in Victoria. The Department’s Student Excellence Program includes:

• The Victorian High-Ability Program, “a 10-week online enrichment program in English and mathematics for high-ability students in Years 5 to 8 at government schools”. Students are selected through their school.
• The Victorian Challenge and Enrichment Series, free extension activities across the curriculum, from Foundation. Schools nominate students.

Every government school also has “access to a high-ability practice leader”, so it’s worth asking your school what it offers.

Questions parents ask

What are the selective schools in Victoria?

Four selective entry high schools for Years 9 to 12: Melbourne High School, The Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School, Nossal High School and Suzanne Cory High School. About 1,000 Year 9 places are offered each year.

When is the selective school test in Victoria?

In June of Year 8. For Year 9 entry in 2027 it was on Saturday 20 June 2026. The dates for 2028 entry haven’t been published yet.

How much does the Victorian selective school exam cost?

$175. It’s free for families with a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card and for First Nations families, and a reduction is available for financial hardship.

What is in the Victorian selective entry exam?

Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (60 minutes), Reading and Verbal Reasoning (55 minutes) and Writing (40 minutes, two tasks). It is done on paper, with answers shaded in a booklet.

How are selective school places offered in Victoria?

85% on exam rank, up to 10% through equity consideration and up to 5% at the principal’s discretion. No more than 4% of standard and principal discretion offers can go to students from one school.

What is the SEAL program in Victoria?

Select Entry Accelerated Learning programs are run by individual government schools, each with its own entrance test and dates. At some schools, such as Brighton Secondary College, students must also enrol in the normal way, so check the school’s own website and its enrolment and zone rules.

Sources

• Selective entry high schools, Victorian Government
• Victorian Selective Entry High Schools, Australian Council for Educational Research
• Schools and settings targeted to high-ability students, Victorian Department of Education
• Student Excellence Program, Victorian Government
• Supporting high ability learners, Victorian Government
• Select Entry Accelerated Learning, Brighton Secondary College